New Delhi
Looks like these are tough times ahead for MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace who now faces new claims of inappropriate sexual behaviour on set as woman claims he “groped” and “touched” without consent. The presenter has now stepped down from the show.
One woman in fresh claims said that he touched her bottom at an event and another said that he pressed his crotch against her while filming on a different show.
As a response to these allegations, BBC said it was pulling its MasterChef Christmas specials. He has stepped down from presenting MasterChef last week after an investigation took place. Meanwhile, his lawyers have strongly denied he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature.
The claims
A woman named Lisa (name changed) who worked on BBC show Eat Well For Less in 2015 said that he "touched [her] inappropriately" when they were filming in a supermarket. "He brushed past me at the checkout, and touched my bum with his waist and penis and laughed and said “oooh you liked that didn’t you”," she said.
"It was the way he reacted, other people would’ve said “oh I’m sorry can I squeeze by” which would’ve been ok."
Lisa says that at the time, she felt like she had to "get on" with work. "But I wasn’t ok about it. When I finished the shoot, I felt it was slimy, disgusting. He just didn’t need to touch my body, it made me uncomfortable." She said that while she talked about it to a senior colleague, but they did nothing.
Another woman Anna (name changed) worked on MasterChef in 2015. She said that she was called to his dressing room on one occasion, to fix his bow tie for an after work event. When she started fastening his bow tie, she said that she noticed his trousers were "partially lowered". She did not see how this happened.
Another woman claims that in 2022 Gregg asked her to take him to the car park. She said, "As we walked down, he started putting his arm around me, saying 'go on, hold my hand, don’t you want to stand next to me'. It was totally out of the blue, and totally unwanted."
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People who have come forward with allegations against Wallace include former BBC Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark, who said he told stories and jokes of a "sexualised nature" in front of contestants and crew when she was on Celebrity MasterChef.